This
matter is before the Court on Defendant Henry Ford Health
System's Motion for Summary Judgment. (Doc. 48).
Plaintiff's Complaint advances claims for race
discrimination and retaliation under 42 U.S.C. 1981, Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Elliott-Larsen
Civil Rights Act (“ELCRA”) based on
Defendant's alleged failure to promote and reassignment
of Plaintiff. (Doc. 1). Plaintiff also advances an additional
claim under ELCRA for age discrimination. (Doc. 1). Defendant
asserts that it is entitled to summary judgment because its
decision not to promote Plaintiff was based on legitimate,
non-discriminatory factors. (Doc. 48). In response, Plaintiff
contends that the evidence supports its position that
Defendant impermissibly based its decision on race and
age-related factors. For the following reasons, the Court
GRANTS Defendant's motion.

II.
STATEMENT OF FACTS

Plaintiff,
Monica Rogers, is an employee of Defendant, Henry Ford Health
System (HFHS or Defendant). Rogers is a 63-year old,
African-American female. She does not have a Bachelor's
Degree or a Master's Degree and has worked for HFHS for
35 years, beginning her employment in October 1981. Between
1983 - 1991, Rogers held a number of positions in Human
Resources. In 1991, she became a “Senior
Representative, Organizational Development.” The
position did not require a college degree. On April 30, 2007,
she was given a position in the Organizational Human
Resources Development (OHRD) department with a title of
“OHRD Consultant.” While this new position
required a Bachelor's Degree, Rogers was grandfathered
into the position without having a degree.

The
OHRD Department provides various types of training programs
and courses for HFHS employees, from new employee
orientation, to leadership courses. As an OHRD Consultant,
Rogers was responsible for conducting training assessments
and implementing specific training and development programs
to meet assessed needs.

At the
time Plaintiff became an OHRD Consultant, Laurie Jenson was
the Director of the OHRD Department. Rogers initially
reported to Jenson, until 2009 when she began reporting to
Monica Jackson-Lewis, and then Barbra Bressack in February
2013. Both Jackson-Lewis and Bressack reported to Jensen.
Between 2008 - 2012, Rogers received uniformly positive
performance evaluations The OHRD Department also consisted of
“Senior OHRD Consultants.” A Master's Degree
was required for the position of Senior OHRD Consultant. A
Senior OHRD Consultant is involved in project management and
works with HFHS leaders to bridge the gap between the
strategic vision and the organization's current
performance and culture. Caucasian and African American
employees held Senior OHRD Consultant positions.

When
Rogers began reporting to Jackson-Lewis, Defendant alleges
that Plaintiff became so disruptive and insubordinate that in
July 2010, Jackson-Lewis referred her to HFHS's Employee
Assistance Program (EAP). Between December 2012 and January
2013, Rogers formed an opinion that she should be promoted to
a Senior OHRD Consultant. This opinion was grounded in a
belief that she was performing functions that a Senior OHRD
Consultant would typically perform, including leading
“two or more system level projects.” On January
23, 2013, Rogers, Jensen, and Jan Harrington-Davis, Director
of Employee and Labor Relations, Workforce Diversity and
Compliance, met to discuss Rogers belief that she should be
promoted. Harrington-Davis spoke to Rogers and Jensen and
reviewed the Senior OHRD Consultant job description. She and
Jensen both agreed that Rogers did not qualify for a
promotion. Harrington-Davis informed Rogers that the only way
she could obtain the promotion would be to obtain a
Master's Degree and qualify for the position, or if the
department were to revise the job description in terms of job
duties and educational requirements.

On
March 25, 2013 Rogers submitted a written complaint to Derick
Adams, Vice President, Human Resources for Health Alliance
Plan (Health Alliance Plan, (HAP), is a wholly owned
subsidiary of HFHS). She claimed she had been subjected to
“discrimination/harassment by Laurie Jensen.” She
claimed she should be promoted to Senior OHRD Consultant and
that there were six “white counterparts” who
received promotions without a degree, or after the job
descriptions had been modified to reflect their lack of an
advanced degree or lack of experience.

In July
2013, Rogers filed an EEOC charge, claiming race
discrimination and retaliation. Following the conclusion of
Champney's investigation, a number of employees allegedly
reported to Jensen that Rogers had exhibited erratic behavior
or made threating statements. These included:

o A co-worker telling Jensen that Rogers had taken a baseball
bat and smashed a car window of a woman who Rogers thought
was having an affair with her husband. This co-worker
expressed fear that Rogers could “go postal” and
that “she was crazy.” Adding that he heard Rogers
say that she hated “that bitch [Jensen] so much
[Rogers] could just fight her in the parking lot.”

o Another co-worker told Jensen that she wanted to stay away
from Rogers because she had heard from other employees that
Rogers had been engaging in strange behavior. Rogers had also
told Bressack that Jensen was a liar and that the truth would
come out, and justice would be served. Bressack found this
unsettled and reported it to Jensen. Jensen reported these
concerns to her supervisor, Kathy Oswald, Senior Vice
President and Chief Human Resource Officer for HFHS. Jensen
also reported them to Adams, who testified that Jensen was
concerned for her personal safety.

Rogers
alleges that all of these statements were either lies or
exaggerations, taken out of context, designed to get rid of
her. She claims that this was not the first time Jensen had
lied and documented her lie, citing an example from January
2009, when Jenson wrote that Rita Fields, a Vice President at
the company, stated that Rogers behavior was somewhat
bizarre. Rogers states that when Fields was confronted with
the document, Fields stated that it was inaccurate as it
relates to anything she allegedly said.

In
light of the reports to Adams, he referred Rogers to EAP for
a fitness for duty exam. On September 11, 2013, she was
placed on a paid suspension and told that concerns were
...

Our website includes the first part of the main text of the court's opinion.
To read the entire case, you must purchase the decision for download. With purchase,
you also receive any available docket numbers, case citations or footnotes, dissents
and concurrences that accompany the decision.
Docket numbers and/or citations allow you to research a case further or to use a case in a
legal proceeding. Footnotes (if any) include details of the court's decision. If the document contains a simple affirmation or denial without discussion,
there may not be additional text.

Buy This Entire Record For
$7.95

Download the entire decision to receive the complete text, official citation,
docket number, dissents and concurrences, and footnotes for this case.